Griquas coach Pieter Bergh is seeking a more disciplined performance from his side in Saturday’s Currie Cup clash against the Bulls XV in Kimberley.
In last weekend’s opening round, the defending champions suffered a last-minute 25-19 defeat against the Stormers XXIII in Cape Town, while the Bulls went down 24-10 to the Boland Cavaliers in wet and muddy Wellington conditions.
Bergh admitted discipline was his biggest frustration.
“I’ll be honest, it was a difficult week,” he told Netwerk24. “We were very unhappy about the way we lost, because that’s not how we know the team.
“[Lock] Derik Pretorius got a red card and there were four incidents where our discipline cost us.
“We only conceded eight penalties in the game, but four of those were for poor discipline. Everyone in the group knows we can’t afford a repeat of that.”
WATCH: Bulls speedster back in business
Bergh expects an intense battle on Saturday between two desperate sides and a much different contest to the arm wrestle the Bulls experienced against Boland.
“You don’t want to put yourself under pressure so early in the competition,” he said. “So both teams will be keen not to have nought out of two after Saturday.
“The conditions will be completely different in Kimberley. It will be a very different and more attacking game compared to what we saw in Wellington. Our field is nice and hard and worn, and it could probably be a high-scoring game.”
“The Bulls have a big, strong pack and guys like Nama Xaba who are good on the ground.”
ACKERS: Bulls might not pick Papier
With Pretorius suspended, lock Lungi Mbiko will make his Currie Cup debut.
“Lungi has never played a bad game for us and he deserves his chance at Currie Cup level against a good Bulls team,” Bergh said. “We are really looking forward to his performance.”
GRIQUAS – 15 Cameron Hufke, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Zane Bestee, 12 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 11 Gurswin Wehr, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Bobby Alexander, 8 Carl Els, 7 Marco de Witt, 6 Lourens Oosthuizen, 5 Albert Liebenberg (c), 4 Lungisi Mbiko, 3 IG Prinsloo, 2 Tiaan Lange, 1 Leon Lyons.
Bench: 16 Janco Uys, 17 Eddie Davids, 18 Ntobeko Shezi, 19 Carel van der Merwe, 20 Phumzile Maqondwana, 21 Caleb Abrahams, 22 Sako Makata, 23 Connor Mahoney.
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
The post Bergh: Griquas must hit back appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Griquas coach Pieter Bergh is seeking a more disciplined performance from his side in Saturday’s Currie Cup clash against the Bulls XV in Kimberley.
The post Bergh: Griquas must hit back appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
